It's rare for the 49ers and Seahawks to meet on common ground, but the cause for which Colin Kaepernick and Jeremy Lane are fighting is about more than football.
Following Kaepernick's lead, Lane also sat during the national anthem before the team’s preseason finale Thursday to call attention to racial inequality and police relations in the United States. Lane's actions were supported by Kaepernick, who later spoke to the Seahawks cornerback to offer thanks.
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"He reached out to me and just told me thank you, standing behind me," Lane told reporters Monday, via the San Jose Mercury News.
Kaepernick's 49ers teammate Eric Reid also knelt beside the quarterback before Thursday's game against the Chargers after Kaepernick was spotted sitting on the bench a week earlier. Lane isn't pressuring any of his teammates to join him on the bench during the anthem, but a number of Seahawks said they support his cause.
"I think it's his right to be able to protest, and I think it's all right," defensive end Michael Bennett said, via ESPN.com. "There's definitely some issues in America that a lot of people are starting to recognize. I think people have recognized them before, but I think with social media and the things that are going out, the media outlets, everybody has a chance to really show what is going on and their ideas and really having a chance to really protest what they think is wrong with America. And that's OK. That's what it's about.
"It's about people having that right to have their voice, and I think it's cool that Jeremy Lane is doing what he wants to do. Obviously, there's so much going on right now in America. Football's just a small part of what we do. At the end of the day, we'll be football players for 12 years or 10 years or whatever it is. But at the end of the day, we're still minorities and black men in America, and that's what we're going to be for the rest of our life. And if you want to protest about things that are going on, that's fine."
Lane said the only advice he received from Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is to “be smart."
“I don’t want to put no pressure on no one,” Lane said. “I’m doing it for me.”
Kaepernick, Reid and Lane will have the opportunity to sit simultaneously during "The Star-Spangled Banner" when the NFC West rivals meet in Seattle on Sept. 25.